How to grow five-color pepper seeds? Sowing methods and care tips

The five-color pepper is a type of chili pepper. On the same plant, the fruits come in red, yellow, purple, white and other colors, with a glossy sheen. As a potted ornamental plant it is very endearing, and it can also be eaten. So how do you grow colorless pepper seeds?

1. Sowing

Sowing is usually done in summer, and the seeds should be disinfected before sowing. Soak the seeds in warm water for 3 to 10 hours, until the seeds absorb water and swell up. Place the seeds in the growing medium and sow them in spots at a spacing of 3×3 cm. After sowing, cover with growing medium to a depth 2 to 3 times the size of the seeds. After sowing, use a sprayer or a fine-holed watering can to moisten the growing medium; later, water again when the potting soil is slightly dry. Still be careful not to water too forcefully, so as not to wash the seeds out.

2. Seedling management

After sowing, once the seedlings emerge, remove the plastic film promptly, and let the seedlings receive sunlight before 9:30 every morning or after 3:30 in the afternoon, otherwise the seedlings will grow very weak and spindly; after most of the seeds have sprouted, thin them appropriately: pull out the diseased and unhealthy seedlings so that the remaining seedlings have some space between them; when most of the seedlings have grown 3 or more leaves, they can be transplanted into pots.

3. Temperature

The five-color pepper prefers relatively dry relative air humidity, is afraid of rain, and needs to keep its leaves dry at night. The optimal relative air humidity is 50 to 65%.

4. Fertilizer and water management

Like other herbaceous flowers, it has a relatively high demand for fertilizer and water, but the fertilizing (and watering) principle of “light fertilizer applied frequently, small amounts more often, complete nutrition” should be followed, and after fertilizing, the leaves and flowers should be kept dry at night.

5. Pests and diseases

A common disease is phytophthora blight, which can affect both seedlings and adult plants. When seedlings are affected, the stem base shows dark green water-soaked soft rot and damping-off. Spray or drench in time with 50% metalaxyl wettable powder at 800 times dilution, or 64% sandofan wettable powder at 500 times dilution for control. Cottony leak can occur in both seedlings and adult plants; when seedlings are affected, the stem base rots, constricts and the plant dies. In the early stage of the disease, spray with 72.2% propamocarb aqueous solution at 400 times dilution, or 15% hymexazol (soil fungicide) at 450 times dilution for control.

The five-color pepper generally begins to ripen in mid-to-late August. After ripening, it should be picked promptly to improve economic returns. It can also be dried in a ventilated, dry place into dried peppers, to be kept for eating or sold as commercial peppers.